Tot Swap
by Moonlight Tigger
Summary: Slightly AU. Two children, born in the same hospital room, swapped at birth. The truth is only revealed 17 years later, and brings pain to those who have believed a lie for all this time.


Tot Swap

It was over. The hardships they had faced in the years previous under the corruptor Furher Bradley; the homunculus Wrath, were completely demolished. There was peace throughout the land.

That was for everyone, besides the small team who were under the command of Colonel Roy Mustang.

…

"Hey Chief!" Havoc's pleasant greeting did not go unnoticed by the commanding officer of the squadron, currently cooped away in his office.

He sauntered to the door, and a smile came to his face when his eyes met the golden ones he had not seen in a whole year.

"Hope you guys missed me!" The wide grin the blonde bore was only a mask however, for what was soon to come. "Havoc! I heard you were walking again! Good man! And colonel, I see you got your sight back too!"

"You seem too happy Chief. I'm suspicious," Havoc joked. Edward punched his arm mischievously. That was when the formalities were dropped, and the kind, warm feeling in the office vanished. Edward's smile disintegrated into a scowl.

"You may all wish to take seats," he mumbled. Mustang took the chance to scurry into his office and retrieve his comfy leather appliance. He was not going to hurt his back by sitting in a hard wooden chair.

The young blonde, dressed in a light white shirt, which hung over his black slacks, remained standing while everyone else took seats. He cleared his throat to gain any attention he did not previously have.

"Upon clearing through the attic of my good friend Winry Rockbell's home recently, I came upon something I have not seen in many years. I would guess that I hid it up there as it was the only thing remaining of the family I had before my mother passed away." He reached into his trouser pockets and lifted a cream envelope, with his name imprinted on it. No address, no stamp or anything to signify it was a proper letter. Just his name.

"This is a letter given to me by my mother on her death bed. She gave it in private, with no other individuals present, not even Al. And the only clue she gave me as to the contents of this letter, was the fact that I was not her biological son." The justification earned the young man horrified gasps from the group listening to his every word.

"But…why did you proceed in attempting to bring her back?" Havoc asked the question on everyone else's minds. Edward sighed inwardly.

"I did it for Al. Even if I had no idea as to who my real parents were, he could at least have his back," he replied. "And I plead that not one scrap of information that will be released tonight in this office should reach Alphonse's ears. He does not deserve that pain."

"So, does that mean Hohenhiem is not your father?" Roy piped up out of nowhere, returning to the subject beforehand. Edward stared straight on at him and nodded.

"Hohenhiem and I are not related whatsoever." Roy nodded and sat back, letting the young man continue.

"Tonight, after ten whole years from the untimely death of my so-called mother, I am finally going to open this letter, on the anniversary of her death," he announced. The others still hung on his every word.

"So, you trust us that much to allow us to be present when you discover the identity of your true parents and how it came to be that you were raised by Trisha and Hohenhiem; and not them?" Hawkeye inquired. Edward nodded, smiling.

"I feel that you lot are the closest thing I have to family besides Alphonse. I would like you all to know these things," he said softly. He then grabbed a spare seat, hanging his brown trench coat on the back of it and sat. He stared silently at the letter for a few moments. The team completely understood how big this was for him, and allowed him to take his time.

His delicate fingertips slowly pulled apart the seal placed on the envelope many long years before. He licked his lips in anticipation; excited yet frightened as to the information this letter held.

The team waited patiently as the boy read the five-page-long letter encased in the envelope, his eyes becoming wider with every sentence his eyes passed over; until the point they literally thought they would pop out of his head.

He sat, frozen with the letter in his hand as he finished it. His mouth slightly agape, a tear coming to his eye. He limply dropped the letter, and as it fell to the ground, Hawkeye picked it up.

Once finished reading it, she gasped loudly. She looked over at Ed, almost ready to burst into tears herself.

"S-sir….I think you should read this," she mumbled, passing the papers to her superior before rushing over and embracing the frozen blonde tightly. The first few paragraphs were obviously explanations and drabbles the Elric mother had directed towards her son; private matters that no-one outside the small family would understand.

But, once his eyes scanned over the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh paragraphs; the final four, he also let out a horrified gasp, and put his hand to his mouth. Havoc snatched the letter from him, and it seemed as though it was a chain of gasps making its way through the room.

"Chief…" Havoc said quietly, looking sadly over to the blonde, who was finally showing his emotion, crying into Riza's shoulder.

_**My dear Edward, **_

_**If you are reading this, I would guess I have passed on and have given you a brief account of the contents of this letter on my deathbed. **_

_**I just want you to know, before all this comes out, that you were the best son anyone could ever have and I am so proud of you, and hope you go on to be a fantastic person who will change the world, as you dreamed of doing ever since you were 18-months of age and could speak. **_

_**So, on my death bed, I will have informed you that Hohenhiem and I are not your biological parents. I know it seems sudden, but you must understand, my brave little man, that I couldn't bring myself to tell you while I was alive, as I was too afraid of giving you up. **_

_**You see, Hohenhiem and I did have a son, born on the same day as you; February 11**__**th**__** 1899. And yes, our son was to be called Edward Elric. But, where you were born; in Central on that snowy night, as Hohenhiem and I were on a vacation and the storm hit pretty bad, trapping us there until it ceased. Unfortunately, my child decided the day he wanted to enter the world was the day the blizzard was at its most treacherous. Luckily, we were only two blocks away from the hospital and got there quickly before the blizzard got too bad. **_

_**As I went through labour, I met a young teenaged mum-to-be, Catherine, and her boyfriend, Roy. They were so sweet, as Catherine had been in labour since the night before so had been in the hospital when the blizzard had hit. We got to know each other, and I found out that they were also expecting a son, to be named Nicholas Leo Mustang, after Roy. The two planned to wed when their son was old enough, so they could be a proper family. I found it so sweet, but Hohenhiem was too asleep to even notice. **_

_**So, Catherine had her child before mine, a tiny little boy with bright blonde hair and golden eyes like his mother. He received his facial features from his father though, and was the spitting image of him. I soon had my own son, a little blonde also, but with soft brown eyes like my own. **_

_**And, only a few hours into his life, my baby passed away in my arms. And, in my despair before anyone noticed he had left the world, I noticed Catherine was asleep, leaving her tiny baby boy sleeping in a cot nearby her bed. Hohenhiem had taken Roy for a coffee, and so I spotted my chance. In my misery and utter desperation, I waltzed over and swapped my deceased son for the living, breathing baby boy lying near his true mother. You. I am so sorry, my little boy, to have done such a terrible thing to you, since you were supposed to live with your true parents, those sweet teenagers I befriended and betrayed. And I have harboured the guilt right until my deathbed. So, as I know you, you will want to go looking for these parents of yours, their names are Catherine Llewellyn and Roy Mustang, unless they are married and both share the same surname. They said they lived in Central, so probably still do. **_

_**Don't ever forget that I love you, and always will. You will always be my brave little man, even if you are not mine truly. **_

_**Lots of Love, **_

_**Trisha Elric xxx**_

"I-I can't believe it…" Edward sobbed. Riza shushed him, patting his back softly. Across the room, Roy was also trying to conceal his tears.

Edward Elric, the prodigy he had teased and loathed so much when they were subordinates, was actually his son, Nicholas Leo Mustang. And Edward Elric was the dead tot he and Hohenhiem had found upon returning from their coffee. He had gone through so much pain, and so had Catherine, believing their precious boy was dead. If they had only checked his eyes; and they would have guessed straight away that it was not their boy lying before them.

"Y-you're…you're my Nicholas…" He managed to speak. Riza stepped away from Edward, allowing the new proclaimed father and son to see each other properly. The spectators; Mustang's team felt the tension in the air.

Edward nodded through his tears.

"I'm….the baby that was stolen from you…." He mumbled. This was when Roy completely broke down. Tears burst from his eyes as he proceeded hastily across the room to embrace the boy opposite, who now stood.

As his arms wrapped around the blonde child; the boy he had thought for the past 17 years was dead and buried, the child who had been under his nose for the whole time since joining the military. His son, his Nicholas.

"Don't think I'm gonna call you pops or anything." Edward's light-hearted attempted to lighten the mood worked, allowing chuckles to escape the crying man embracing him.

"And I'll still call you Edward, as Nicholas would not be suitable after all these years of calling you Ed," Roy replied, smiling at the boy. "And now….I have to go and call Catherine after all these years…joy." The group laughed as their superior shuffled off to do the deadly task.

*The End (for now)*

Author's note: I'm very new to fanfiction, and this only my second story...so hope you liked it. Please read and review :)

Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist :( but i just like writing fanfictions for it :D

Oh, and I may make a sequel to this...not sure...tell me by reviewing please :)


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